"The Bandaranaike government had directed that unless a Tamil public servant
passed a proficiency test in Sinhala in stages over three years, his annual increment
would be suspended and he would eventually be dismissed.

Mr.Kodiswaran, a Tamil in the executive clerical service, declined to sit for the exam and
in 1962 his increment was stayed. He sued the government on the ground that the regulation
was unreasonable and illegal as the Official Language Act of 1956 transgressed the
prohibition against discrimination provided for in section 29 of the Constitution.

The trial judge, the most senior in the judicial service, upheld the plea. But his
judgement was set aside on appeal in the Supreme Court on the ground that a public servant
could not sue for his salary. Mr.Kodiswaran appealed to the Privy Council in London, which
set aside the Supreme Court's decision on suing for a public servant's salary and directed
that the Supreme Court should now rule on the constitutional question.

The Sri Lanka government thereupon abolished appeals to the Privy Council, thereby
disposing of Kodiswaran's case. And the
Republican
Constitution of 1972 did away with the safeguards for minorities enshrined in the
original section 29." - Walter Schwarz: Tamils of Sri Lanka - Minority Rights
Group Report 1983